Regrets
by CrystalMaiden77
Summary: After being electrocuted, Tails gives Sonic an apology he never thought he'd get.


Things were looking bleak. Sonic was trapped in a cage in the Mystic Ruins, and Eggman had left a 10-foot tall robot in front of it that was electrocuting Tails. Sonic couldn't bear to watch as his adoptive little brother was caused such pain, being grasped in a robotic hand being shocked through the head, and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't break the bars of the cage with his spin-dash, boost, homing-attack, bounce-attack, or even his fire somersault. He was helpless.

Suddenly, he saw Metal Sonic fly up to the robot from around the side of the hill with a curious look on his face, clearly wanting to find out what was happening. Metal Sonic looked at Tails in alarm at seeing electricity being shot into his head, with his bloodcurdling scream and grimaced fearful expression revealing his pain.

Looking alarmed, Metal Sonic stared at Tails with his eyes wide open, completely fixated on the electricity in front of him, and he became overwhelmed with fear at being reminded of the most horrible experience of his life. He tensed up and his red eyes shrunk to the size of tiny dots as he had a flashback to when he was electrocuted. He vividly remembered in great detail racing after Sonic in the Death Egg Mk II, an electrified wall making loud buzzing noises coming down in between them, panicking at flying towards it not being able to stop, and slamming into it at four times the speed of sound. He vividly remembered feeling excruciating pain from the hard impact with the metal wall and the high voltage jolts of electricity piercing and rushing through his body, forcing him to convulse and burning him from the inside. He let out a bloodcurdling scream from the pain and fell over on his back paralyzed, feeling parts of his metallic body chipped off and dented, aching and stinging, with electricity escaping the holes and cracks in his metallic casing along with the oil that was his blood, causing him to slowly lose more and more energy over time as he went from extremely frightened and panicked to weak and faint in only seconds. He vividly remembered how he had felt during and after that experience. For the first time in his life, he had felt afraid. He felt like he was going to die. He had barely lived; it had only been a week since his creation, and already he was severely damaged to the point of deactivation. That experience changed him forever. There was no greater threat to him than the threat of slamming into an electrified wall at 3,072 miles per hour. There was nothing more terrifying to him than being electrocuted. Running into a metal wall at high speed was bad enough, but being electrocuted was unbearable; it made him feel powerless, because there was nothing he could do to stop it. His fighting skills were useless against it, because he couldn't fight electricity, only try to avoid it, or destroy the source.

Metal Sonic was frightened as his flashback ended as quickly as it began; his senses, being sped up to the speed of sound from the fear, had allowed him to experience his most vivid memory in less than two seconds. From Sonic's perspective, Metal Sonic had simply showed up, looked surprised at seeing Tails getting electrocuted, and then suddenly looked frightened and started shaking uncontrollably, with his usually menacing red eyes shrunken to the size of little dots from the fear. Completely fixated on what reminded him of his past experience, Metal Sonic was aware of nothing else but a person being electrocuted like he was and causing his memory to come back to haunt him again, and he started grimacing with his fists clenched, practically feeling his pain. Tails was in pain, and he was in pain, and he quickly looked at the cause; the robot. The cause of all his suffering.

All in a split second, his red eyes, still shrunken, glowed brightly as he became enraged at the robot, glaring at it with cold-blooded hatred with his fists clenched. No one deserved to go through what he did! With his sharp claws out, he flew at it furiously in a fiery ball of destruction, turning on his boost to ensure he caused as much damage to it as possible, looking like an orange blur as he moved at four times the speed of sound all over the robot in every possible way damaging it every way he could. From Sonic's perspective, he was done in just three seconds, but from the perspective of Metal Sonic's sped-up senses, it was clear that he was using his every attack against the robot in retaliation for triggering his flashback; at one point, he curled into a ball and spin-dashed through it multiple times, cutting it apart with the sharp metallic quills on his body slicing it into pieces, using his flight and boost to assist in hitting and damaging it as much as possible in a short amount of time. Enraged and furious, he worked so quickly that he was a blur, demolishing the robot with all his strength before finishing it off with a laser fired from his chest.

With that, the robot finally let go of Tails and stopped electrocuting him, causing the kid to fall limply to the ground in pain, and Metal Sonic quickly ran out of the way dodging the debris as the robot fell apart completely. When the robot had finished falling apart, Metal Sonic's look of anger faded, with his red eyes returning to their normal size and no longer glowing menacingly, and his rage was replaced by a satisfied smile. He sighed in relief, proud of himself for destroying the robot and managing to get the electricity that triggered his flashback to stop being there so that he finally returned to feeling safe.

Sonic gasped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. In the span of five seconds, Metal Sonic had saved Tails from a robot that was electrocuting him, looking surprised, panicked and then enraged and destroying the robot with more brutality than he had ever shown to Sonic. Why? He would've expected Metal Sonic to take sadistic pleasure in Tails getting hurt, not freak out and instantly save him.

To Sonic's even greater bewilderment, Metal Sonic used his burning spin-dash to break the bars of the cage keeping him from running up to Tails to check on him, and then left. Sonic exclaimed,

" Huh?! " First, Metal Sonic saved Tails, and then he freed his sworn enemy from a cage? He could've just left him there to die, but he didn't. Did he _want_ him to get Tails to the hospital? Did he _care_ _about_ Tails? Did he feel sorry for him for being electrocuted?

The most confusing thing was that the robot thought nothing of it. The instant he freed Sonic, he instantly flew back home at the speed of sound. He didn't even give him a word of explanation, not even saying anything like, " I was just passing through, " or, " It's not like I like you or anything! " or, " Don't get used to this. " He just looked satisfied and left. If he had stopped and said something to him, he would've had reason to suspect him of ulterior motives, but he didn't seem to have been doing it for a reward. It seemed like it was genuinely no big deal for him. He just witnessed someone get electrocuted, looked scared, got angry and saved him, freed his enemy from a cage, and then left without saying a word, as if it was no big deal, as if he was just doing what he wanted to do. He wondered why Metal Sonic would ever react that way. The only answer he could think of was that he remembered how _he_ felt when he was electrocuted by that wall in the Death Egg Mk II, and it gave him a foundation for empathy in that situation, allowing him to feel sorry for Tails and understand how he felt and giving him the motivation to make his suffering stop. It was either that, or Metal Sonic had a glitch in his programming; of course, since there's no way Eggman intentionally programmed him from the very beginning to panic at seeing electricity and get thrown into a violent rage against whatever was producing it, the former being true would've been a glitch on its own, but Sonic was wondering if Metal Sonic had been smacked in the head recently and acted that way from a malfunction. Both explanations made sense, but...

" Ow... my head... " Tails moaned in pain, lying on the ground on his side. Overwhelmed with concern, Sonic rushed to his side calling out, " Tails! " being reminded that his little brother needed him. He helped Tails up, lifting him into a sitting position, and then put his arms around him holding him close, embracing him to comfort him and show him how relieved he was that he was alive. Tails was exhausted and in pain, but he still managed to return the hug, holding onto Sonic like his life depended on it and trembling in fear. " Did you _see_ that?! " Tails said with a shaky pained voice, forcing out words and forcing back tears. It had been the most terrifying experience of his life, or at least the worst one after meeting Sonic; he had no memories of being bullied for having two tails, since he was only three years old at the time. Sonic hugged him, feeling even more concerned. This would not help with his fear of lightning.

" Yeah, I did. Never expected Metal Sonic to save us like that. He must have smacked his head on something recently... " Sonic said nervously. He didn't want to tell Tails that Metal Sonic could've felt compassion for him and been moved to a moment of heroism because of that; after all, this incident might cause Tails to trust Metal Sonic and attempt to get him to the side of good, and Sonic felt that was too risky and dangerous. One act of heroism didn't mean he was good, and it certainly didn't mean he was trustworthy. He saved Tails because of selfish reasons; he wanted to stop being reminded of when he was electrocuted, so he did whatever he could to make the electricity stop so that he could feel safe again. He didn't care about Tails as a person! He couldn't have! He just wanted to stop feeling panicked, to get rid of a major threat, to stop being trapped in panic mode and feeling like he was in danger. He was reacting out of survival instincts in a fight or flight situation, not thinking straight in the slightest. Had he been thinking rationally, as opposed to letting his emotions overwhelm him, he probably would've left Tails to his fate, but since someone being electrocuted was too strong of a reminder for him, he snapped, doing the right thing just to feel safe again. It couldn't have meant he wasn't evil! All it meant was that he had PTSD from slamming into an electrified wall at two different points in his life, and while that wouldn't mean he was good and trustworthy, it would still get Tails to sympathize with him and want to risk the consequences of attempting to bring him to the side of good. All that would result in is him being killed at worst and Metal Sonic being a double agent at best. So Sonic decided not to tell Tails what the other reason could've been, for his own good.

Appreciating the hug, Tails put his head on his shoulder, trying to hold back the tears as he trembled uncontrollably. Frightened, the child whimpered, " I've never been so scared in my entire life... It hurt! I, I thought I was gonna die... But I didn't... " He sighed in relief.

" Thank you for comforting me. You're such a good friend. You've always been there for me...

I don't deserve you! " Sonic gasped. " Don't say that, Tails! Of course you deserve me! W-Where's this coming from?! I thought I had gotten your confidence up! " he exclaimed in panic, wondering if the electrocution gave him brain damage. After all, he had been shocked right through the skull.

With tears running down his face, Tails said sadly with his voice breaking and his tone full of shame, " Exactly. I was confident... _Too_ confident. I used to be so nice to you. But then I started being mean to you! I got it in my head that I had to start being sarcastic towards you to prove that I wasn't a little kid anymore. So ever since Eggman kidnapped those Wisps, I've been insulting you and acting like I think I'm better than you! I didn't appreciate you like I used to. I took you for granted... I went from a nice kid to a smug little brat who did nothing but make fun of you! When we had to deal with the Deadly Six, I treated you like dirt! I made you apologize for something that wasn't your fault! _I_ should've been the one saying sorry! A-After everything you did for me, I was ungrateful enough to treat you like a traitor, and then not even care that I hurt your feelings... What was I thinking?! You're my best friend! You're like a big brother to me! You're the only family I've ever known! You took me in when I was three years old and that's how I repaid you?! You don't deserve that! I don't know why you took me back. I don't know why you forgave me for being so selfish and bratty and insufferable after everything you did for me. I've been a horrible friend! I'm sorry... I'm sorry you've had to put up with me... "

Sonic was speechless at seeing Tails breaking down sobbing in front of him insulting himself more than he had in years. He didn't know what to say. All he could do was to continue hugging him, and start caressing his head with one hand while holding him close with the other, trying to calm him down. Right now, Tails needed someone to listen. Interrupting him would only make him feel more alone.

" I've been a heartless jerk to you, but I promise, that's gonna change. I've learned my lesson, Sonic. No more being an insufferable genius, no more being a brat! The last thing I wanna do is end up just like Eggman! If I keep going down that road, my ego will get too big for its own good and that's just what could happen! You didn't betray me, Sonic! I betrayed you! You trusted me not to treat you that way for your entire life and I let you down. But never again! " Tails told him, with determination as well as sadness. Tears were still escaping his eyes, but he wasn't speaking with a choked up voice anymore.

" That electricity knocked some sense into me! It was a wake-up call. It was the universe telling me I needed to change. For most of my life, it protected me from going through the scariest experience imaginable because I was being _kind_. I was a _sweet_ and _innocent_ kid who was _humble_ _despite_ being a genius! But when I started becoming more like Eggman, fate had to teach me a lesson. It had to show me that the way I was behaving was wrong. It wouldn't have happened to me otherwise. It was a punishment, Sonic. And I've learned my lesson. I'm gonna go back to treating you with the respect you deserve. I love you, big bro... I mean it... And I'm gonna go back to acting like it... " Tails said with a voice full of shame. After that, he stopped speaking, crying into Sonic's shoulder overwhelmed with self-loathing and guilt.

Sonic felt conflicted. He didn't know what to do. On the one hand, Tails really had hurt his feelings by calling him a traitor. In fact, he had never been so hurt by an insult in his entire life. He couldn't believe that Tails, a child that he had taken care of since he was three years old who meant the world to him, someone he would do anything for, would actually think he would betray him. And while he was incredibly hurt by the accusation, he still felt sympathy for Tails when he said that, because he knew what it was like to feel like his close friend trusted Eggman more than him.

He had wanted to say that to Knuckles for years, but he could never get the courage to do it. So he understood how sad, alone, and stressed out it made Tails feel to feel like he had been betrayed, because he had experienced those exact feelings four times before.

But just because he understood how Tails felt didn't mean he wasn't offended at the accusation. He couldn't believe that someone he knew all his life to be a sweet child would actually treat him that way, being cold and rude to him for an extended period of time, and then expecting _him_ to be the one apologizing afterwards! That was a wake-up call; Tails really had changed. Starting with the first time he met the Wisps, Tails had become a lot more likely to insult Sonic, doubt him, act like he thought he was superior to him, and recently, treat him with anger and coldness, which was something he never thought he would experience from such a sweet and innocent kid. If Tails' goal really was to prove he was getting more independent and mature, he succeeded, and instead of being proud, Sonic was worried.

While he knew Tails had to grow up someday, he still couldn't help but be saddened and stressed at the idea of his little brother changing from the sweet little kid he always knew and loved, to a sarcastic and overconfident person who was overly fixated on his intelligence. While he was proud of Tails for becoming more mature and independent as opposed to being overly dependent on him and focused on becoming like _him_ instead of improving on his _own_ special skills, he still wasn't sure if he liked what Tails had become. While he was proud of himself for being responsible for Tails becoming an optimistic and confident person when he started out as extremely insecure, he couldn't help but be worried about the way Tails was treating him. Tails went from appreciating all of his heroic deeds and giving him the admiration that made his day, to not caring _what_ he did, becoming far more focused on himself and tinkering in his workshop, insulting him and doubting him and even being cold and rude to him at some points, something unthinkable coming from the sweet but timid child he started out as, who desperately tried to be as polite and well-behaved as possible so as to not lose his friendship with him. Tails didn't admire him anymore. It hurt to think about that. It gave him a deep-seated fear that one day, Tails would lose all interest in him, becoming completely focused on himself and his inventions, no longer caring about his own big brother. It hurt to think that one day, Tails wouldn't admire him anymore, wouldn't respect him anymore, wouldn't care about him anymore, wouldn't like him anymore. That experience where he was treated like a traitor only confirmed the validity of this fear, because it showed him what it would be like if Tails hated him, and proved that it could happen. It showed him that Tails actually _could_ be cold and resentful of him, and even though it was only due to a brief falling out in the friendship as opposed to it ending, it still worried him. What if this behavior kept escalating until Tails didn't respect him anymore, didn't care about him anymore, didn't like him anymore? What if Tails kept going down that slippery slope until one day, he didn't love him anymore?

It was because of that fear of losing his closest friend that a part of Sonic appreciated that Tails was finally feeling guilty and apologizing to him for his behavior, even though he felt miserable because of it. He didn't want to lose the friendship because Tails outgrew him and started only caring about tinkering in the lab, and he didn't want to lose the sweet, humble and friendly child he had always been close to in favor of a sarcastic insufferable genius who had no qualms about treating him with anger or coldness. While he did think Tails was exaggerating when he said he was becoming more like Eggman, since he didn't have a desire to take over the world yet, he was still developing a more similar personality to him, until being electrocuted caused him to feel guilty about his behavior. While he did want to comfort Tails and cheer him up by telling him that he was being too hard on himself, he didn't want the kid to disregard the lesson he learned and go back to being a jerk. He wanted him to change for the better, by going back to the way he used to be before he started being rude to his own brother. So he continued to hold and caress Tails as he cried into his shoulder, staying silent instead of telling him he was wrong and risking losing all of the progress he just made. He felt a little guilty about that, but it was the right thing to do. Tails being kind and compassionate instead of sarcastic and self-centered was good for the entire world, not just for him, so in the end, it was for the greater good that he didn't humor him for once.

He didn't want to lose Tails. He needed him more than anything. He was always his closest friend, his most healthy and stable friendship, someone he could always rely on and look forward to seeing no matter what stresses he went through. He couldn't handle the idea of him and Tails drifting apart as Tails got older and became more focused on himself than him, to the point where they were eventually friends in name only. He wanted them to be close friends, and brothers, for their entire lives. Growing up meant growing apart, or at least that's what it seemed to mean until this point, when Tails finally realized the slippery slope he was going down and felt guilty. So it gave him relief to hear that Tails wanted to stop going down that dark path and go back to being the sweet little kid he had always known him as.

After seven minutes of letting Tails cry into his shoulder while holding him close and caressing him, Sonic finally spoke to him again. He said in a gentle and loving tone, " I love you, little bro... I'm proud of you, more proud than I am of _anyone_ else. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you're alive and will _always_ be there for me. We're _always_ gonna be friends, _best_ friends, and brothers! We're not gonna drift apart. I'm not mad at you, Tails. I'm _proud,_ proud that you admitted you made a mistake and was brave enough to apologize. You may have hurt my feelings a couple times but you _made_ _up_ _for_ _it_ when you admitted you were _wrong._ You _promised_ to never act that way again and I'm _proud_ _of_ _you_ _for_ _doing_ _that._ I know that wasn't who you really were. You were just trying to act mature, but you lost sight of who you were. You don't _need_ to act that way to prove you're becoming more independent and getting older, because I know that's gonna happen naturally with time. That's not something you _need_ to prove! You don't need to prove yourself to me one bit, and you know why? " Looking up at him with tears in his eyes, Tails asked him sadly with shame in his voice, " Why? "

Sonic said with a smile, " Because I'll _always_ be proud of you. You don't _need_ to try to impress me, because I'm _already_ impressed with you! You can fly, you're a genius, you can build all sorts of cool inventions, and you can even pilot a plane! You never cease to amaze me, kiddo! You don't have to try to impress me by acting _differently_ because I'm impressed by _you_ and everything _about_ you! Even when you're being _yourself,_ I'm _still_ proud of you! So you don't have to worry about me not respecting you or liking you any time soon, because you'll _always_ be my _closest_ friend. Out of everyone in the universe, you're my favorite! And that's not gonna change... I'm sure of it. "

Tails slowly started to smile again after hearing that speech. " Thank you... " he said quietly with a shy smile, not really being sure if he deserved it. He still felt guilty about the way he had been treating Sonic, but seeing that he still liked and respected him was a huge relief, and it did a lot to comfort him. He was worried that redemption would be difficult, but now he could see that getting Sonic's forgiveness was as simple as apologizing. Sonic was the best friend he was ever going to get. The least he could do to repay him was be nice to him again. He deserved to be treated with respect, especially after he took him back. Finally cheering up, Tails smiled warmly at Sonic as the hug ended at last, thankful for being given a second chance. " Come on, little bro... Let's go to the hospital. "


End file.
